Better - Little Women

 Monika M. Milani (she/they) is a professional Actor and Singer that specializes in Voiceover and Musical Theater. As a child of immigrants, with ancestry from the Philippines and Iran, she is a proud representative of the AAPI, SWANA/MENA, and LGBTQIA+ communities in the Arts. She is currently based in California and the Pacific Northwest.  

Her most notable technical performance strengths are her expressive and dynamic voice, grounded and strong stage presence, an innate knack for comedic timing, and a wide range that can span from a gospel-singing ex-convict man fulfilling community service hours at a school (Mitch Mahoney - 25th APCSB), to a heartbroken and hopeful divorcee/performer (Cathy - TL5Y), to a conniving and sensual Dark Elf with a sweet, nerdy alter ego (Kaliope - She Kills Monsters), to a 12-year-old ghost child from the 30's. 

As an active part of the Anime and Video Game con-going and cosplay community since 2011, where she goes by the pen name ‘munkalanii’, she recently fulfilled a longtime goal of participating in a performance competition at a beloved convention and won the Grand Prize for Anime Los Angeles 21’s Next Top Star contest singing Tot Musica by Ado. More of her content as 'munkalanii' can be found on YouTube and Instagram.  There, she describes herself as a 'whimsy enthusiast', and showcases more of her individual interests, lifestyle, and personality. 

In Theater, Monika is a huge proponent of new musical works and enthusiastically contributes her talents to the workshopping of new art. Atop of having an extensive Theater tech resume where she specializes in Props and Costume/Makeup, she also has a knack for bringing a world to life with sound in any capacity reachable. Monika is freelance amateur Sound Designer and Engineer, who is studying the art to sharpen her editing skills for client's and her own work! She has a true passion and affinity for voice and sound, in and out of the booth. 

As for the beginnings of her professional Theater career, soon after graduating with her Theater Arts B.A. with classical vocal studies at UC Santa Cruz, she moved to Portland to serve as an Acting Apprentice at Portland Playhouse. Though primarily a Voice Actor and Singer, she has been active in the Portland Theater community since 2023, with an ongoing emphasis on new musical works. 

During her time at Portland Playhouse, Monika combined her academic studies in History, Anthropology, Spirituality and Sound Design with her love of all things performance-related in her devised solo piece. These Grains of Rice explores and honors the stories that created the generational lessons passed on by her ancestors, in all its glory and complexity. This piece is a good example of how she  approaches Theater and Acting in a ritualistic, honorific way, similarly to how most Theater began. Knowing that any story could be a word-for-word description of somebody’s truth, she does her best to connect deeply to honor and channel the whole being of the person she steps into. 

Monika's mission as an artist came with many years of discovery, dismantling her fears of being seen, and pushing back the idea that following what sings to her soul would be a bad thing. Her goals can be encapsulated in a few words: courage, connection, community, representation (and fun!).